MARIETTA — Late Thursday night, Cobb Police arrested the young man who they say shot an officer at a Smyrna apartment complex in July and evaded arrest for nearly six months.

Shymel Young, 19, of Marietta, was arrested Thursday on charges of aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and obstruction of law enforcement. Young was also charged with shoplifting and possession of alcohol by an underage person from a separate incident.

“Our guys are ecstatic,” Cobb Police Sgt. Dana Pierce said. “(The Cobb County Police Department) is relieved (Young) is in custody and off the street, and he will not cause harm to another person.”

On July 12, according to Cobb Police, a uniformed officer approached a suspicious person while patrolling the Concord Chase Apartments on Hurt Road between Austell Road and South Cobb Drive.

When Officer D. Rogers approached Young, police say he ran. During the pursuit, Young drew a handgun and shot Rogers one time in the chest, Pierce said.

Rogers was wearing his departmental-issued ballistic vest. Rogers was transported to a local hospital where he was treated and released, then spent time recovering at home, Pierce said.

Heavily armed police in SWAT units descended on the apartment complex for a daylong manhunt, setting up a perimeter and searching apartments door to door.

But by nightfall July 12, Cobb Police came up empty handed.

Pierce said he had to be “tight-lipped” about how information on Young being the suspect was obtained by Cobb Police because of the “unusual fashion.”

The National Police Defense Foundation out of Morganville, N.J., posted a $10,000 Safe Cop Reward in connection with the armed assault on Rogers. This was in addition to the current reward of up to $5,000 offered by Atlanta Crime Stoppers, Pierce said.

The reward was for any person having information that leads to the conviction of Young, but cannot be paid to any active or retired law officer or any co-conspirator involved in this incident, Pierce said.

On Friday evening, Pierce said Young would be held without bond at the Cobb jail.

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